Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says he is optimistic a deal on averting the fiscal cliff can be reached within weeks after talks yesterday between President Obama and congressional leaders.

“It was a good meeting, and the tone was very good,” Geithner said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

Geithner said a deal must be reached soon to prevent further damaging consumer confidence. Lack of agreement is “this huge cloud of uncertainty hanging over the economy,” he said. As the holiday shopping season approaches, “You’d want to do it as soon as you can.”

Geithner repeated the administration’s calls for an immediate extension of middle-class tax cuts, and said a deal on high-end tax cuts shouldn’t be delayed.